Missouri’s new athletic director, Laird Veatch, is getting a significant pay raise. Veatch, who was named the university’s 23rd athletic director on Tuesday, will make $1.3 million annually over five years. That’s double what he made as the athletic director at Memphis.
Veatch’s contract, which starts May 1st and runs through April 30th, 2029, includes a base salary of $900,000, plus $200,000 in non-salary compensation and another $200,000 in deferred compensation.
In addition to his salary, Veatch will be eligible for several performance incentives. He’ll earn $75,000 if the athletic department meets certain revenue generation targets, and he’ll also receive bonuses for conference championships, Final Four appearances, and NCAA tournament titles.
Veatch’s deal with Missouri doesn’t make him the highest-paid athletic director in school history, though. That distinction still belongs to Desireé Reed-Francois, who left Missouri to become the athletic director at Arizona.
Reed-Francois initially made $950,000 annually, but her salary was bumped up to $1.5 million per year before she left Missouri. Because she didn’t fulfill the terms of her contract, she owes Missouri a buyout, which could be as much as $3 million.
University officials will introduce Veatch at a news conference on Friday afternoon.
